Refreshing Your Classic's Chrome

Chrome as that looks as dazzling as this Bentley radiator shell is no accident. It takes preparation and a good plater.

If you think about it, the two things that have the most impact on spectators and judges when you show your car are its paint and chrome. These two factors alone can make the difference between a first place trophy and an also ran. The problem is, chrome work is one thing most restorers can't do at home. We usually have no alternative but to trust our classic's precious brightwork to a commercial plating shop. But even though you have to send your parts out, there are some things you can do to insure the best work possible.

First, it is imperative that you find a good plater. This is a crucial step, because if the people doing your work aren't careful, they can easily buff lines and lettering right off and make your trim items look terrible. And if a chrome shop doesn't know how to work with old, cast, pot metal parts such as door handles and hood ornaments, they might literally dissolve them when they try to plate them.

Remove your brightwork carefully so as not to kink it or chip the paint. A piece of soft wood is used here to pry off fender moldings.

One way to find a good chrome shop is to go to local car shows and ask around. Chances are, someone there can recommend a craftsman who will do a good job. Another approach is to join the club for your marque, and ask some of the experts at club headquarters. Finally, you can try local body shops to see if they know of a good plater.

Before we replate, let's remove your classic's chrome.

Remove the chrome from your classic carefully so as not to chip its paint or break anything. Trim pieces can be difficult to replace on rarer cars. Save the fasteners in labeled, plastic zip-lock bags so you won't lose them.

When you have all of your chrome items off take pictures of them so you can make sure you get everything that you sent in back from the plater.

When you finish taking everything off, lay the pieces out on the floor and photograph them to create a visual record before sending them out. That way, when you get your parts back from the plater, you can verify that nothing is missing.

Also, it's a good idea to tape long, thin strips like belt moldings to pieces of wood, so there is no way they can get bent. The plater can use the wood to back the piece when he's buffing the item too.

If you have any bolts you want plated, don't forget to wrap their threads with plastic electrical tape. If you don't, the chrome will get on the threads and then the nuts won't go back on the bolts.

Now your chrome pieces are ready to be plated.

Nickel shadow shows up as golden patches. Sometimes they can be quite subtle, but they will soon tarnish like this steering wheel hub.

If some of your pot metal parts are badly pitted, it's best to replace them because deep pits won't polish out. Of course, if you're restoring a rare car you may have to stick with what you've got, or possibly have new items cast in brass. If you want to try to save your badly pitted parts, you can first have them copper plated, then fill the pits with silver solder and clean them up with a fine file. After that, you can take the items back and have them chromed with good results.

When your parts come back from the plater, refer to your photos to make sure you have everything. Then check each item carefully for nickel shadow. Nickel shadow shows up as a slightly golden patch where the nickel underneath is showing through the chrome. If you're not sure whether you've found nickel shadow or not, exhale on the area. The condensation from your breath will make it more obvious. Take any parts with nickel shadow back to the chrome shop and have them redo them.

With these few tips, it's really pretty easy to get good chrome work, and if you make sure to use a good plater, you'll get results you can be proud of.